"Ugh… Where am I?"
Zhang Tianyu groaned softly as his eyelids fluttered open. The ceiling above him was unfamiliar—rough, metallic, and rust-stained. Dim morning light filtered through cracked windows, casting eerie shadows across the room.
"I'm… I'm not dead?" he muttered, his voice hoarse.
He lifted his trembling hands in front of his face, turning them over as if seeing them for the first time. His memories were foggy, but the last thing he could recall was a blinding Hyper Beam roaring toward him. He was certain he had met his end beneath Nidoking's terrible power.
Meow~
A soft growl, almost musical in its tone, reached his ears.
Zhang Tianyu flinched, heart racing. He pushed himself upright, frantically searching for the source of the sound. His eyes widened as the scene before him came into focus.
All around him lay his fallen comrades—every member of Team Rocket who had come on this mission, sprawled unconscious on the cold floor. Their Pokémon were scattered beside them, equally defeated.
The room was not empty.
Lined neatly along one wall sat a row of Houndours, their tongues hanging out, black eyes fixed on him. On the ceiling, Zubats clung upside down, their wings folded but alert. In a shadowed corner, the very Nidoking and Nidoqueen that had crushed their group now lounged lazily, as if nothing had happened. A Murkrow perched silently on the shoulder of a slumbering Charmeleon, its beady eyes watching Tianyu's every move.
And at the very center of the room, atop a battered wooden chair like some throne, sat a sleek Persian. Its golden eyes gleamed with intelligence, its tail lazily swaying.
Meow~ (Oh, you're finally awake.)
The Persian's voice was soft yet commanding, and though Zhang Tianyu couldn't understand the words, the tone left no doubt—this creature was in charge.
His instincts screamed at him to be cautious. He grabbed Prince Bo's Poké Ball from his belt and recalled his Pokémon.
"Who… who are you? Where is this place?" Zhang Tianyu asked warily, backing up slightly. His mind raced. The coordinated Pokémon, the battle, the survival—it couldn't have been coincidence.
The Persian leaped from its chair, landing gracefully in front of him. With its razor-sharp claws, it began scratching words into the dusty floor.
Zhang Tianyu watched as the characters slowly took shape:
"My name is Zhaocai. I am the mascot of Team Rocket. Boss Giovanni is disappointed in you and has handed you over to me."
Zhang Tianyu's eyes widened as he read the message aloud.
"Boss Giovanni…?" His heart pounded as realization struck. "So the Nidoking and Nidoqueen… they weren't wild at all. That whole attack was staged!"
It all made sense now—the precision of the Hyper Beams, the fact that no one had been killed, the way Nidoking had spared their lives even at close range. It had been a test.
For a moment, fear gave way to excitement.
"So… so this is what it means to be part of Team Rocket," he whispered. "Real challenges, real strength…"
His mind turned to a single burning thought: Chen Feng.
That Beedrill—so fast, so untouchable. Every attack they tried had been dodged or countered. But if he could master moves like Nidoking's Hyper Beam—especially that incredible turning beam—defeating Chen Feng would be possible.
Zhang Tianyu clenched his fists. Joining Team Rocket was the right choice after all.
As if to cement its authority, Zhaocai jumped back onto the chair—Renjiro's throne, it seemed, in this temporary base. The phrase echoed in Zhang Tianyu's mind: There is no Renjiro in the mountains, this cat is the king.
"Master Zhaocai," Zhang Tianyu said, bowing his head slightly, "what would Boss Giovanni like us to do next? What are his orders?"
The Persian stretched, arched its back, and lazily scratched another message onto the floor:
"Train until Giovanni is satisfied."
"Train… until Giovanni is satisfied?" Zhang Tianyu echoed. He glanced around. But how? Renjiro isn't even here.
Surely they weren't expected to train themselves under the watchful eye of a Persian?
"Master Zhaocai," he began again, "I mean no disrespect, but… how exactly are we supposed to train without guidance?"
Before he could finish, Zhaocai swatted the air with its paw and growled softly.
Meow! (Enough questions! You're bothering me. We'll talk later.)
Zhang Tianyu got the message loud and clear. Though he couldn't understand Pokémon speech, Zhaocai's glare and flicking tail made it obvious that his questions were tiresome.
He swallowed hard. "Understood…"
Resigned, Zhang Tianyu sat cross-legged on the floor, waiting for the others to wake up.
Persian curled up on the chair again, its tail wrapped around its body, eyes half-lidded in contentment.
The room was quiet for a while.
Then—
"Ahhh! Where am I?!"
A panicked voice echoed off the walls. Ji Ping had woken, his eyes going wide at the sight of the row of Houndours.
"Shh!"
Zhang Tianyu hurried over, clamping a hand over Ji Ping's mouth.
"Do you want to wake up the cat?!"
Ji Ping blinked at him, then looked over at the Persian. Fortunately, Zhaocai barely stirred—just flicked an ear and went back to dozing.
Once Ji Ping calmed down, Zhang Tianyu let go.
"Zhang Tianyu… what's going on?" Ji Ping whispered, glancing nervously at their surroundings.
"The Nidoking and Nidoqueen were part of a test set up by Renjiro. We failed, so now he's handed us over to this Persian—Zhaocai. Apparently, we're to train until Renjiro is satisfied."
Ji Ping's jaw dropped.
"Renjiro set this all up?! That monster Nidoking was his?"
"Obviously. Think about it. How else would we have survived?" Zhang Tianyu sighed. "If that Nidoking had really wanted us dead, do you think we'd be standing here now?"
Ji Ping shivered at the thought. "True…"
His gaze shifted to Zhaocai.
"And this Persian? What's the deal?"
"It's the Rockets' mascot. Renjiro put it in charge. I guess we're supposed to listen to it until he returns."
Ji Ping stared at the lounging feline, incredulous.
"We're taking orders from a cat?"
Zhang Tianyu gave a bitter laugh. "Does it look like we have a choice?"
Ji Ping sighed, rubbing his face. "What happens now?"
"We wait for the others to wake up. Then we figure out how to train. One thing's for sure—we have to improve, or we'll never survive in Team Rocket."
As time passed, more teammates stirred awake, each one startled by their surroundings, then silenced by a quick explanation from Zhang Tianyu and Ji Ping.
Zhaocai observed it all with half-lidded eyes, the true ruler of this strange domain in Renjiro's absence.
Outside, the sun climbed higher, casting warm rays through the broken windows. The wilderness of Warehouse District 8 remained as dangerous as ever—but inside this battered building, a new chapter for these would-be Rockets was beginning.
And somewhere, far from this place, Renjiro was already planning their next trial.
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